Euler’s formula, Either of two important mathematical theorems of Leonhard Euler. The first is a topological invariance (seetopology) relating the number of faces, vertices, and edges of any polyhedron. It is written F + V = E + 2, where F is the number of faces, V the number of vertices, and E the number of edges. A cube, for example, has 6 faces, 8 vertices, and 12 edges, and satisfies this formula. The second formula, used in trigonometry, says eix = cos x + isin x where e is the base of the natural logarithm and i is the square root of −1 (seeirrational number). When x is equal to π or 2π, the formula yields two elegant expressions relating π, e, and i: eiπ = −1 and e2iπ = 1.

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any real number that cannot be expressed as the quotient of two integers. For example, there is no number among integers and fractions that equals the square root of 2. A counterpart problem in measurement would be to find the length of the diagonal of a square whose side is one unit long; there is...

April 15, 1707 Basel, Switzerland September 18, 1783 St. Petersburg, Russia Swiss mathematician and physicist, one of the founders of pure mathematics. He not only made decisive and formative contributions to the subjects of geometry, calculus, mechanics, and number theory but also developed...

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